Machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheets



Oct; 19, 1954 K. K. K EFFER MACHINE FOR SEPARATING. PAPER SHEETS FROMINTERLEAVED CARBON SHEETS Filed Sept. 27, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet l K. K.KEFFER Oct. 19, 1954 MACHINE FOR SEPARATING PAPER SHEETS FROMINTERLEAVED CARBON SHEETS Filed Sept. 27, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 AW/AwayOct. 19, 1954 KEFFER 2,692,137

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING PAPER SHEETS FROM INTERLEAVED CARBON SHEETS FiledSept. 27, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 5g 2 ser Z T 5 5 a2;

i :9 2 5 5 I we 1 4 i 6 5/ b u U U J Oct. 19, 1954 K. K. KEFFER MACHINEFOR SEPARATING PAPER SHEETS FROM INTERLEAVED CARBON SHEETS 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 27, 1952 INVENTOR Oct. 19, 1954 K. K. KEFFER2,692,137

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING PAPER SHEETS FROM INTERLEAVED CARBON SHEETS FiledSept. 27, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 15-15 ENTO R e W Y d Q FQNEY PatentedOct. 19, 1954 MACHINE FOR: SEPARATING PAPER SHEETS FROM INTERLEAVEDCARBON SHEETS Kenneth K. lieffer, NewHolland'. Pa..

Application September 27, 1952, Serial No. 311,829

18 Claims; 1

My invention. relates broadly to. machines; for" separating paper.sheets from interleaved carbon sheets and more particularly to, animproved method-and apparatus for rapidly separating paper. sheets. frominterleaved carbon sheets with minimum handling of the sheets.

One of the objects of my invention is tozpro- 'vide an improved methodfor separating paper sheets'from interleaved carbon sheets by which thepaper and. the carbon sheets are removed in opposite directions from aninterleaved sheet pack;

Still another object of my invention is. to provide. an improved methodfor separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheets which consists in vertically suspending the interleaved sheets and alternatelywithdrawing the paper sheets andthe carbon sheets from the suspendedpack of sheets-by longitudinal movement in opposite directions.

Another object of my invention is to provide animproved machine forseparating paper sheetsfrom interleaved carbon sheets having means foralternately withdrawing'the paper'and carbon sheets in oppositelongitudinal directions from.

interleaved forms by operations which; require minimum handling of thesheets Still another object of my invention is to provideaconstructionof paper separating machine operating upon normally folded forms andem'-- ploying positive drive. means for withdrawing the sheets from the.interleaved forms within a minimum of physical overall area of spaceandwith'i avery substantial saving in-labor.

Still another object of my invention is to pro-- vide an arrangement ofadjustable rack for suspending interleaved paper and carbon sheetformsin a position by which alternate paper and carbon sheets may bewithdrawn from the susfrom interleavedcarbon sheets in multiple fold--ed office forms wherein the machine is readily adjustable to accommodatea wide variety of sizes and. number. of interleaved sheets requiringseparation.

Other and further objects of my inventionreside inthe improved method ofinterleaved sheet separationand machine for efiecting such. sep

aration as'set' forthmore. fully in the.specifica.-

tion. hereinafter following by reference to the accompanying, drawings,in. which:

Figure 1. is-a-perspective view of thesheet sep arating machine of my"invention. showing the? mechanismzfor. removing 2' one: of: the: sheetsfrom". the interleaved carbon-and paper multiple fold ingforms; Fig. 2is'a verticallongitudinal view taken through the. machine shown:in.Fig-; 1;: Fig. 3 is an enlarged. fragmentary view" of: one. end. of.the separating; machineillustrating the manner in' which the carbonsheet is removed from the interleaved carbon and paper.-sheets;;-

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken sub.- stantially-on line-4-tof Fig. 2; Fig. 5: is a. top plan view of the separating machine;: Fig.6. is an: enlarged vertical sectionalviewtaken-1 transversely of. theadjustable suspension. bars and.

: showing the manner.- of suspending. the'multiple interleaved carbonand paper sheet forms; Fig; 7 is an; enlarged; elevational view showing;the manner of' driving: the coacting. rolls employed for. Withdrawingthe paper or carbon vsheetswfrom the interleaved. multiple; formssuspended: on the adjustable rackof the-separatingmachineg Fig.

8 is a transverse sectional. view taken: through.

one set: of thecoacting: rollers,- and' showingthe manner of mountingthe rollers. for mutual ad justment with respect to each other. and;the; manualmeans for initially revolving the: rollers; while feeding: apaper or carbon. sheet therebetween, the. rollersbeing partially brokenaway to illustrate the resilient surfacing thereof; Fig; 9 isaviewsimilar to the-view illustrated in Fig. 8;

but. showingtthe coacting, rollers separatedfor the introduction of asheet therebetween preparatoryto thewithdraw-al thereof fromthe foldedsuspended interleaved pack.;.Fig. loris across seertional view takensubstantially on. linex-e.--st.

of Fig. 8; Fig. his a cross sectional view'taken. substantially on linel|--l-I ofFig. 9'; Fig. lzis-across; sectional viewtaken; substantiallyon. line l2.-I2 of Fig. 9 and. illustrating the coacting:v rollersseparated for the'introduction; and feed-- ing of a sheet therebetween;Fig; 13xis-a detail view showing v one of.- theroller suspension links;

mounted-for eccentric adjustment; Fig. lrl-is' a: vertical sectionalview. taken on line M-Hl Ofi Fig. 13; and: Fig. 15" is a detailviewillustrating the manner oiimounting thetransverse bars con.-

stituting. the" rack ofithei separating" machine. for

suspending the, multiple. interleaved carbon and paper. sheet ofiioe;forms. preparatory to' separation of. the. fiormsausing. the methodand"; machine of: my. invention;

Heretofore. in; the' art? machines proposed; for

separating: carbon and paper sheets? in oiiice= tabulating. accounting,and: statistical data.

- forms, haverrequired: very substantial: labor and:

time in the operation of such machines and have necessitated verysubstantial floor space for the installation of the equipment. Suchprior apparatus has depended upon gravity forces in its operation andhas been subject to the disadvantages of adherence of the paper sheetsdue to the generation of static electricity incident to the movement ofthe paper sheets which has often resulted in shutdown of the equipment.Such prior machines have been of an inconvenient height from the floorresulting in inconvenience to oiiice workers and in separating thecarbon sheets have necessitated the withdrawal of the carbon sheets byhand from the waste position which at best results in an untidycondition for both the workers and the office in which the machine isoperated.

Moreover, such prior machines must have been built to accommodate officeforms of a prescribed size and have not been readily adaptable to officeforms of a different size. Such prior ma chines have performed theseparating function by movement of the carbon and the paper sheets inthe same direction, requiring a halting of operation as soon as acongested condition of waste carbon beneath the machine is reached.

In the method and apparatus of my invention I eliminate all of thedifficulties hereinbefore experienced and provide a machine ofconvenient height and size for ofilce installation which is readilyportable for operation in any desired location in the ofiice.

The machine of my invention includes an adjustable rack adapted toreadily receive a folded pack of interleaved carbon and paper sheets ofa wide variety of sizes and number of interleaved forms. The rack isreadily adjustable to enable the forms to be spread apart and suspendedthereon in a position in which the paper and carbon sheets may bealternately introduced into feed roll assemblies at opposite ends of themachine and driving forces applied to the feed roller assemblies forpositively withdrawing the paper sheets in one direction and the carbonsheets in the opposite direction. The operation is rapidly performedwith minimum of handling. The paper sheets with the tabular data thereonare delivered at one end of the machine for fan folding into a compactspace for future use and/or filing, while the carbon sheets aredelivered to the other end of the machine for reclaiming or for depositinto a refuse receptacle. The entire operation is performed so rapidlythat labor up to 800 percent and time up to 1700 percent has been savedby the method and machine of my invention as compared to an operation ofa manual character.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, reference character 2indicates the frame of the paper and carbon sheet separating machinehaving vertically disposed standards la, lb, to and id terminating attheir lower ends in supporting rollers or casters 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d. Thestandards la, lb, lo and Id each have sleeves designated at 3a, 3b, 3cand 3d adjacent their lower ends immediately'above the rollers orcasters for providing connecting means for the horizon tally extendingframe 4. The standards Ia, lb, lo and id carry adjustable sleeves 5a,5b, 5c and 5d thereon which may be selectively set in position on thestandards and provide connecting means for the horizontally extendingframe 6. The horizontally extending frame 6 is vertically adjustable onthe standards Ia, lb, I c and id by shifting the sleeves 5a, 5b, 5c and5d thereon to the position at which the fan-fold sheets suspended on themachine may he supported by means of horizontally extending bars 64 and65 which depend from the frame 6 by means of brackets 64a and 84b and65a and 65b. The bars 54 and 65 serve to support the lower loops of thefan-fold sheets at the looped ends thereof relieving the weight of thesheets and facilitating the separating operation described more fullyhereinafter. The bars 64 and 65 establish substantially tangentialcontact with the depending looped ends of the fan-folded multipleinterleaved sheets. The standard la supports a bracket 1' for thedriving motor 8 and also forms a mounting means for control switch 9which controls the power supply to motor 8 from the lower leads ii].

The standards la, lb, I0 and id also provide mounting means for theadjustable sleeves Ha, i lb, i to and Hal which may be selectivelylocated in a predetermined vertical position on the standards to providesupports for the horizontally extending frame consisting of connectingmembers [2a, [2b, We and iifd. The connecting members Ila and 12b extendlongitudinally of the frame of the machine and provide mounting meansfor the spacially transverse bars I4 with intermediate limitingseparator sleeves !5 located therebetween. The hOllZOl'1- tallyextending frame 42, [2b, !2c and 5212 is vertically adjustable and thetransverse bars it are spacially adjustable to accommodate the machinefor operation on a wide variety of multiple paper and carbon interleavedfan-fold packs as they are completed on a tabulating or a statisticalmachine, the vertical adjustment providing for packs of differentlengths as the sheets are suspended downwardly in a vertical position onbars M and the adjustable spacing between bars M serving to accommodatefan-fold packs of dif ferent numbers of interleaved. sheets. The lengthof transverse bars 14 between the longitudinally extending frame members1211 and 52b is selected so that they are of a suitable dimension toaccommodate such length of sheets constituting the fan-fold sections asthe machine may be required to accommodate over a variety of differentkinds of ofilce machines.

The standards to, lb, lo and Id serve as supporting means for coactingrollers which serve to withdraw the paper and carbon sheets in oppositedirections at the top of the machine. Standards Id and 10 respectivelysupport frames l6 and ii at the top thereof. These frames are eachdivided into upper and lower sections, that is, [Go and 56b; and Ma andi'ib, respectively. The lower sections I61) and l'lb provide mountingmeans for the two pairs of spaced coacting drawing rollers 28a and Ebband 210: and 21b for drawing paper through one end of the machine fromthe interleaved fan-fold sheets suspended on the rack constituted bytransverse bars 5.

At the other end of the machine, frames 58 and J9 are mounted on theupper ends of standards la and lb and serve as mounting means. for thepairs of coacting rollers 22a and 22b and 23a and 23b which operate todraw the carbon sheets from the interleaved sheets on the rackconstituted by bars l4 through the opposite end of the machine.

The pairs of coacting rollers carried by the- 'frames at the top of themachine are driven through intermediate gears 2 and 25, respectively.The construction of each of the sheet withdrawing units. at oppositeends of the Ina chine is symmetrical and a description of one of 5. theunits: as set forth in Figs 7-14 will be s'ufil cient for purposes ofexplaining the:- details of both units;

Referring to Figs, 7-14 it will. be observedthat the upper'rollers 20aand am of each of the coacting' sets of. rollers are resilientlysupported in bearingswhich float with respect to the hearings: in whichth lower coacting rollers 20b and" 2th are mounted. This isaccomplishedby providing vertically disposed slots led and its in the lower section161) offrame it and aligned slots lid and l 'lein lower. section Nb offrame ll within which blocks 26 and 27, and 23 and 29, respectively; areresiliently suspended by means of coil springs shown at 3.0; The coilsprings 39 are located between. recesses countersunk beneath the uppersections Ilia and Ila of the frames l6 and I? and extending intorecesses formed in the blocks 28, 21, 28 and 29. The blocks 26, 27, 28and 2:9 eachhave a pin member shown at 25a, 28a and 29a depending fromthe bottom thereof andvariably' projecting into bores at it) and IT) inthe lower sections l?) and 17b, for example, to serve asguides for thevertical movement of the floating roller of each of the coacting sets ofrollers; Thus the top roller of each of the coacting sets ofrollers-moves toward and away from the bottom' coacting roller whilebeing maintained in vertical alignment therewith. Each of the rollerssuch as c and 20b for example are provided with resilient coatings 28aand 29b. The upper rollers of each of the sets of coacting rollers arejournaled as shown for example at 284a, in the lower sections i617 and[lb of frames l6 and ll.

In Fig. 11 I have shown the journals for thalower rollers at 28b and2H). It will be understood that the manner of assembling the other unitsis identical.

The shafts for the lower rollers'of each of the coacting sets of rollersare each provided with gears as shown for example at 20c and Z l'cwhich, in this particular arrangement, are intermeshed by means of gear24. The arrangement at the opposite end of the machine is the same asshown more clearly in Fig. 5 where intermediate gear meshes with thegears" which drive the lower rollers of each of the coacting sets ofrollers.

The bearings for the upper roller of each of the coact-ing sets ofrollers as illustrated in Figs. 7-12, for example, are verticallyadjustable. This is accomplished by suspending the shaftwhich carricethe upper roller of each of the sets of co acting rollers on links 3!,32, 33 and34, shown in more detail in Figs. 13 and 14. Each link is cocentrically mounted by an arrangement of angularly shiftable shaftsshown at 35; 3'5 3'? and- 38. The shafts are journaled in the uppersections We, Ila, 18a and Ida of the frames l6, l'l l8 and i9,respectively. Each shaft carries an eccentric sleeve-like cam,represented at 35 and 36-, and 35" and 36", adjacent opposite endsthereof operating within apertures in the upper portions of thesuspension links so that as the shaft, shown at 36 for example, isrevolved the linksand the rollers associated therewith are effectivelyraised or lowered in a vertical'direction. The rotation of shafts 35,36, 37 and'38 is accomplished by means of manually operated levers shownatllii, dd, 4!, ti", d2, 52' and 43, 43 for respectively controlling theadjustment of each end of the upper roller of the coacting' sets ofrollers for setting the spacial relatlonof' the nip of the: rollers formost effectively oper'ating upon' the-paper and'carbon sheets.

The: assemblyof the sets of rollers within the" mounting 'frames isreadilyaccessible forre'pair,

adjustment and replacement of parts as the up per section of eachmounting frame is readily removable and replaceable with respect to thelower section by means of the screw lie for ex ample in the unitshown inFigs. 7-12.

The feeding of the carbon'or paper'sheets into the nip of thecoact'ingrollers is initially accomplished by means of a manually operated handwheel 44 or 45 which is mounted on the shaft of the lower rollerrepresented at 20b and 22b and serves to revolve the gear 200 and 220imparting movement to all of the other coacting rollers for a sufiicienttime period to enable the paper or carbon sheet to be started throughthe machine. If the paper or carbon sheet has been started through thecoacting rollers, switch 9 is operated, operating motor 8 which drivesbelt 46 operating over pulley 41 carried" by shaft 231)" which revolveslowerroller 23b and gear 23c as sociated therewith. Rotative movement istransmitted through an intermediate gear 25 to gear 220 on shaft 221)"which carries roller 22b. Shaft 221)" carries bevel gear 48 which mesheswith interleaved carbon and paper'sheets shown at 54'- suspended in fanfold arrangement on the transverse bars l4. Similarly the carbon sheetrepresented at 55 in Fig. 3 is manually fed between the nip of rollers22a and 22b to-start the carbon paper therethrough and between rollers23aand 23b and thereafter the motor started for drawing 'the carbonsheet through the machine in the opposite direction.

I provide a guide at each end of the machine for directing the paperinto the paper feed rolls as represented at 56 in Fig. 2, where theguide is supported on opposite ends on frames it and ll and braced in anintermediate position by means of bracket 51. The paper sheet 53 glidesover the roundedsurface'ofguide 56 entering the nip of rollers 213a and206. As the paper passes through coacting'rollers 2 la and?! lb it'isguided over a similar guide surface, which I have represented at 58,supported'by intermediate bracket 59. Similarly, the carbon paper 55 isguided, as represented in Figs. 2 and 8, over a guide surfacerepresented at 60 supported between frames I8 and I9 and braced in anintermediate position by bracket 6|. The carbon paper as it passesthrough the coacting sets of rollers 22a, 22b, 23a

gitudinal direction toward the left as indicated F in Fig: 3.

It will be understood that in starting the machine the paper sheets arefed through the" co- 'acting'sets of rollers 21a and 2Ib, and 2ll'aandthereby imparting motion to roller 2%.

20b, and thereafter the positive drive of the motor takes over and thepaper sheet is zipped rapidly through the machine and out of the fanfold form to a position where the paper sheets may he refolded and filedaway for future reference. On the other hand, the carbon sheets afterbeing initially fed through rollers 22a. and 22b and 23a and 23b arethen positively withdrawn from the fan fold suspension by operation ofthe motor 8.

The transverse bars Hi do not fill the entire length of thelongitudinally extending members 52a and i222 and adequate space isallowed for special adjustment of bars l4 along members H20! and E22) asshown for example in Figs. 1-5 and 15. When the machine is used forseparating fan fold forms of a predetermined size and number of sheetsthe sleeves l5 maybe set in a predetermined position by means of setscrews shown at 55a to accommodate the machine for the predeterminedsize of interleaved fan-fold sheets.

In lieu of the complete withdrawal of one sheet in advance of thewithdrawal of the adjacent sheet, I may expedite the separation processby starting the withdrawal of one sheet in one di rection and then assoon as the free end of the immediately adjacent sheet is accessible thewithdrawal of the said adjacent sheet can be started therebyaccelerating the separation process.

Moreover, I may arrange the machine of my invention so that single pairsof rolls may be employed for withdrawing the sheets in lieu of thecompound arrangement of rolls utilized for withdrawing the sheets. Incertain instances, I may withdraw both paper and carbon sheets insequence, through the same end of the machine, by first withdrawing asheet of one characteristic and next withdrawing the sheet of the othercharacteristic.

While I have described my invention in certain pref rred embodiments, Irealize that modifications and improvements may be made and I desirethat it be understood that no limitations upon my invention are intendedother than may be imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is as follows:

1. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetscomprising a rack for suspending fan folded multiple interleaved paperand carbon sheets with the free ends of said sheets accessible adjacentone end of said machine and positively driven sheet withdrawing meansdisposed at each end of the machine, one of said means being operativeto grip and withdraw paper sheets from said interleaved sheets in onedirection and the other of said means being operative to grip andwithdraw the carbon sheets in the opposite direction.

2. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetscomprising a frame supporting roller feed means at each end thereof, aplurality of adjustably spaced lateral bars mounted on said frameintermediate said roller feed means said bars being spaced to receiveand support fan folded multiple interleaved paper and carbon sheets withthe free ends of the sheets terminating at one end of said frame in aposition from which the individual sheets may be separately introducedinto said roller feed means and said paper sheets removed from said fanfolded sheets in one direction and said car- 8 bon sheets removed fromsaid fan folded sheets in the opposite direction.

3. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 2 in which said roller feed means are eachconstituted by two pairs of coacting rollers geared to each other, bothof said pairs of coacting rollers at one end of the machine acting tomove the paper sheets through one end of said machine and both of thepairs of coacting rollers at the other end of the machine operating tomove the carbon sheets through the last mentioned end of the machine.

4. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 2 in which each roller feed means includes amanually operated controller for revolving said roller feed means forinitially feeding said sheets between the nips of said roller feedmeans.

5. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 1 in which a guide member is interposed betweenone end of said rack and one of said sheet withdrawing means fordirecting the said sheet into the sheet withdrawing means.

6. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 1 in which a guide member is located between eachend of said rack and each of the sheet withdrawing means, one of saidguide members operating to direct and guide paper sheets and the otherof said guide members operating to direct and guide carbon sheets.

'7. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 1 in which said positively driven sheetwithdrawing means are operated by the same motor device and gear meansdriven by said motor device for operating one of said sheet withdrawingmeans through the other of the sheet withdrawing means.

8. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 1 in which said rack consists of a plurality oftransversely disposed space bars supported at opposite ends, said barsbeing adjustable in spacial relation to accommodate fan folded multipleinterleaved paper and carbon sheets of differing dimensions and plies.

9. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 2 in which said roller feed means are eachconstituted by two pairs of coacting rollers wherein one roller of eachcoacting pair is vertically adjustable toward and away from the othercoacting roller for facilitating the gripping of said sheets between thenips of the rollers.

10. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetscomprising a vertically extending frame, a horizontally disposed frameadjustable to selected positions on said vertically extending frame,said horizontally disposed frame including a pair of longitudinallyextending spaced members, a multiplicity of transversely disposed barssupported at opposite ends by said longitudinally extending spacedmembers, limiting separators between said bars for limiting the approachof one bar with respect to an adjacent bar, said bars serving to suspendfan fold multiple interleaved paper and carbon sheets with the free endsof said sheets accessible adjacent one end of said frame, paper sheetremoving means carried by one end of said frame and carbon sheetremoving means carried by the other end of said frame.

11. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetscomprising a frame, a motor carried by said frame, a set of coactingrollers journaled adjacent one end of said frame, a separate set ofcoacting rollers journaled adjacent the other end of said frame, manualmeans for each set of said rollers for independently revolving each setof said rollers, means operated by said motor for driving both of saidsets of coacting rollers, a rack carried by said frame intermediate saidsets of coacting rollers for suspending fan fold sheets of interleavedcarbon and paper sheets with the free ends of said sheets terminating ina position accessible to each of said sets of coacting rollers, wherebysaid paper and carbon sheets may be alternatively introduced through thesets of coacting rollers and withdrawn from said interleaved fan folds,the paper sheets moving in one direction and the carbon sheets moving inthe opposite direction.

12. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 11 including guide means associated with each ofsaid coacting sets of rollers and interposed between said rack and therespective sets of coacting rollers whereby the paper and carbon sheetsare independently directed into the hips of the sets of coactingrollers.

13. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 11 in which said sets of coacting rollers includemanual means for revolving said rollers independently of the drivingforces imparted thereto from said motor.

14. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 11 in which said sets of coacting rollers eachincludes a lower roller and an upper roller and adjustable eccentricmeans for controlling the position of the upper roller with respect tothe lower roller while maintaining the vertical alignment of said upperroller with respect to said lower roller.

15. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsas set forth in claim 1 in which said sets of coacting rollers eachincludes a lower roller and an upper roller and manually controlledmeans for adjusting the position of the upper roller with respect to thelower roller while maintaining the vertical alignment of said upperroller with respect to said lower roller.

16. The method of separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsin a fan folded multiple interleaved paper and carbon sheet pack whichconsists in spreading the fan folded multiple interleaved sheets in ahorizontal direction, suspending the fan folded sheets vertically withthe interleaved paper and carbon sheets accessible from the top thereofand withdrawing the paper sheets and carbon sheets alternately inopposite longitudinal directions from opposite ends of the fan foldedpack while maintaining the fan folded sheets in suspension.

17. The method of separating paper sheets from interleaved carbon sheetsin a fan folded multiple interleaved paper and carbon sheet pack whichconsists in spreading the fan folded multiple interleaved sheets in alongitudinal direction, suspending the fan folded sheets vertically withthe interleaved paper and carbon sheets accessible from the top thereof,positively gripping the free end of the paper sheet and forcefullywithdrawing the paper sheet from the interleaved suspended pack,thereafter gripping the free end of the next succeeding interleavedcarbon sheet and forcefully removing the said carbon sheet in theopposite direction while maintaining the interleaved sheets in suspendedposition and recycling said operations until all of the interleavedpaper and carbon sheets are removed from the suspended pack.

18. A machine for separating paper sheets from interleaved paper andcarbon sheets comprising a rack for suspending fan folded multipleinterleaved paper and carbon sheets with the loops thereof dependingdownwardly and means adjustably supported on said rack and establishingsubstantially tangential contact with the looped ends of said fan foldedsheets for supporting said fan folded sheets at the depending endsthereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 354,208 OSullivan Dec. 14, 1886 1,616,363 Gammeter Feb. 1,1927 1,666,165 Christophel Apr. 17, 1928 1,901,306 Knowlton Mar. 14,1933 2,341,636 Luehrs Feb. 15, 1944 2,368,68 Sherman Feb. 6, 1945FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 506,228 Germany Feb. 19, 1929

